Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-90-202-2116: Shamokin Elementary; Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burr, Gregory A. ; Klein, Matthew K. ; Wilcox, Thomas G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the management of the school system in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, an evaluation was undertaken of possible hazardous working conditions at the Shamokin Elementary School (SIC- 8211). Health and comfort complaints had included tiredness, irritated eyes, and dry throat. Real time carbon-dioxide (124389), respirable particulate, temperature and relative humidity measurements were made in a selection of rooms throughout the day of the survey. Symptom questionnaires were distributed to all of the teachers and follow-up interviews were conducted. Supply air flow rates to the classrooms varied widely. Average carbon-dioxide levels ranged from about 800 parts per million (ppm) to over 900ppm. Morning readings of 475 to 1000ppm and afternoon readings of 723 to 1125ppm were noted. Average respirable particulate levels were rising to 76 degrees in the afternoon. Average humidities began at 22% and rose to 27% in the afternoon. Of 51 teachers, 38 frequently experienced two or more building related health complaints. According to the authors, no obvious health hazards were identified. The imbalanced air and faulty control systems appear to have caused overheating of some areas which can result in thermal comfort problems. Low humidity levels are also believed to have exacerbated these problems. The authors recommend measures to solve the problems for the mechanical systems and to relieve occupant symptoms.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Schools Temperature Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-control Carbon Dioxide Closed-building-syndrome Educational Facilities, Elementary And Secondary Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-90-202-2116 Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Air Quality NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Office-workers OSHA Region 3 Particulates Relative Humidity Teaching Temperature-effects Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA902022116
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  23 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00200319
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-240937
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 90-202-2116, 1991 May ; :1-28
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8211 - Elementary and secondary schools - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5457eb28971430c1bc2bd17e287d995c0651d39895e75e34f2dcd061a7a6946234791ef139d3fb2fa0a6d31c16067dcdc53181c93b9b069d9e3dcc2f0d22c74c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171670/cdc_171670_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 188.37 KB ]